1881 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

During the Gospel age the seed has been growing and tares(counterfeits) also--"the good seed is the children of thekingdom" --the spiritual children--classes n and m--while "thetares are the children of the wicked one"--all of class q, andmany (if not all) of class p--for no man can serve two masters --and "his servants you are to whom you render service." As classp does not consecrate its service to the Lord, doubtless it givesmuch of its time and talent really in opposition to God, andhence in the service of the enemy. Now notice on the chart the"harvest," or end of the Gospel age; notice the two parts intowhich it is divided--seven years and thirty-three years, the exactparallel of the Jewish age and harvest. This "harvest," like theJewish one, is to be a time of trial and sifting, first upon thechurch, and afterward a time of wrath or pouring out of the"seven last plagues" upon the world, and such of the church asare not separated as wheat during the first seven years. TheJewish harvest is the "shadow" or pattern on the fleshly plane, ofall that the Gospel church enjoys on the spiritual plane. (The twocherubim which were types, also teach this equality and likenessof the two ages. They were "of equal size and of equalmeasure.")The thing which tried (fleshly) Israel was the "stone ofstumbling and rock of offence"--Jesus was present as the Lordof their harvest, (the disciples being reapers under his direction.)The truth as to his presence was the sickle, and it separated the"Israelites indeed in whom was no guile" from the nominalJewish church, (and the true wheat there were but a fragmentcompared to the professors.) So, also, in the harvest of this age;Jesus comes a second time, not again a fleshly being, (not againto sacrifice,) but a spiritual body, to "take to himself his greatpower and reign"--blessing thereby all the families of the earth.(As already shown, spiritual bodies are invisible to humanityunless a miracle be performed.)R275 : page 120The second advent of Jesus, leaving the plane of glory, K, andcoming to the unglorified spiritual plane, L, is shown by figurer. As has been stated heretofore, we believe that the prophets,etc.,* teach that we are now in the "harvest" of this age; that ourLord has come, and the work of harvest, or separating wheatfrom tares, has been progressing since A.D. 1874. The first workof the Lord in this harvest will be to separate the true from thefalse, and the truly consecrated children from the unconsecratedones. This work we believe is now going on.The nominal church, because of her mixed condition, the Lordcalls confusion, or "Babylon;" and during this harvest hepurposes ripening, separating, and perfecting the differentclasses in the church--wheat will be separated from tares, andripe wheat from unripe, etc. Class n are a "first-fruits," of thewheat, and, after being separated in the spirit of their minds, will